Systems and methods for updating a knowledge graph through user input

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are disclosed herein for updating a knowledge graph based on a user confirmation. A media guidance application receives a user communication and isolates a term of the user communication. The media guidance application identifies a candidate component of a knowledge graph associated with the term. The media guidance application requests user input directed to confirming whether the term is associated with the candidate component. In response to receiving the user input, the media guidance application modifies a strength of association between the term and the component.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/133,134, filed on Sep. 17, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/697,196, filed on Apr. 27, 2015, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,078,651, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The sheer number of media assets available to users makes it verydifficult for users to determine which media assets they will be likelyto enjoy. Users may rely on media guidance applications to providerecommendations to users about media assets they are likely to enjoy.Traditional media guidance applications may base their recommendationsof media assets on media assets that are related to a user's knowninterests. However, these recommendations do not take into accountuser's casual references to certain media assets during conversationalcommunication.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, methods and systems are provided for updating a knowledgegraph. The knowledge graph may be updated based on a user's casualcommunication to provide more relevant recommendations to the user. Aknowledge graph may be a collection of data organized to storerelationships between different pieces of information. In someembodiments, the media guidance application may receive a usercommunication. In some aspects, the user communication may be a textualcommunication such as an e-mail, a text message, a post on a socialmedia website, a letter, or a chat message. In some aspects, the usercommunication may be verbal, such as a telephone conversation, avoicemail message, a video call, a conference call, or a videorecording.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may isolate a termof the user communication. For example, the media guidance applicationmay receive a user communication that is a text message from a user tohis friend saying “Want to see the middle-earth movie this weekend?” Themedia guidance application may isolate the term “middle-earth movie”from the user communication. In some aspects, the media guidanceapplication may isolate the term from the user communication usingtemplates. For example, the media guidance application may match theuser communication to a template such as “Want to see the [TERM] is thisweekend?”. In some aspects, the media guidance application may isolatethe term based on pre-determined heuristics. For example, the mediaguidance application may use a heuristic that the subject of thesentence should be isolated to isolate the term “middle-earth movie”from the user communication. The term may be any portion of the usercommunication. In some embodiments, the term may be the entire usercommunication.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may identify acandidate component of a knowledge graph associated with the term. Forexample, the media guidance application may isolate the term“middle-earth movie” in the user communication of a text message saying“Want to see the middle-earth movie this weekend?” The media guidanceapplication may identify the movie “The Hobbit” in a knowledge graph asbeing a candidate component associated with the term, as “The Hobbit” isa movie about a fictional land called “Middle-Earth”. In some aspects,the media guidance application may identify the candidate component bycross-referencing the term with the knowledge graph. For example, themedia guidance application may cross-reference the term “middle-earthmovie” with entries in a database comprising titles and synopses ofseveral movies to identify that the movie “The Hobbit” may be associatedwith the term. In some aspects, the media guidance application mayidentify the candidate component by ranking a plurality of candidatecomponents and picking the highest ranked candidate component. Forexample, the media guidance application may identify several movies in aknowledge graph that are about a fictional land called “Middle-Earth”,such as “The Fellowship of the Ring”, “The Two Towers”, and “TheHobbit”. The media guidance application may rank these movies based ontheir release dates, giving “The Hobbit” the highest ranking, “The TwoTowers” the second highest ranking, and “The Fellowship of the Ring” thelowest ranking. The media guidance application may identify “The Hobbit”as the candidate component as it is the highest ranked of the pluralityof candidate components. The media guidance application may use anyrelevant criteria to rank the plurality of candidate components.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may request userinput directed to confirming whether the term is associated with thecandidate component. For example, the media guidance application mayidentify “The Hobbit” as a candidate component associated with the term“middle-earth movie” in the user text message saying “Want to see themiddle-earth movie this weekend?” The media guidance application maysend the user an e-mail asking “In your message, did you mean ‘TheHobbit’?” The media guidance application may present the user withoptions to confirm or deny whether the term “middle-earth movie” isassociated with the candidate component “The Hobbit”. In some aspects,the media guidance application may provide the user with additionalinformation about the candidate component “The Hobbit”. For example, themedia guidance application may provide the users with show times, ticketprices, and locations for theatres currently playing the movie “TheHobbit”. In some aspects, the media guidance application may provide theusers with additional information about an additional component of theknowledge graph that has high strength of association between the termand the additional component. For example, the media guidanceapplication may identify that the “Lord of the Rings” is a movie trilogyabout the fictional land of “Middle-Earth” and has a high strength ofassociation with the term “middle-earth movie” used by the user. Themedia guidance application may provide the user with a synopsis of theplot of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may request user inputconfirming whether a strength of association between the term and thecandidate component should be changed. For example, the media guidanceapplication may identify “Amber Heard” as a candidate componentassociated with an isolated term “Johnny Depp” in a user text messagesaying “I heard Johnny Depp married Amber Heard!” The media guidanceapplication may request user input confirming whether the strength ofassociation between the term “Johnny Depp” and the candidate component“Amber Heard” should be changed by sending the user an e-mail asking “Doyou think the connection between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is gettingstronger?” In response to receiving user input confirming that theconnection between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is getting stronger, themedia guidance application may increase the strength of associationbetween the term “Johnny Depp” and the candidate concept “Amber Heard”.The media guidance application may cause a value in the knowledge graphcontaining the candidate concept “Amber Heard” to be changed to increasethe strength of association between the term “Johnny Depp” and thecandidate concept “Amber Heard”.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may modify astrength of association between the term and the candidate component inresponse to receiving the user input. The media guidance application maymodify the strength of association by modifying a value in a knowledgegraph. For example, the media guidance application may request userinput by sending the user an e-mail asking “In your message, did youmean ‘The Hobbit’?” The media guidance application may determine thatthe user confirmed the association if it receives a user selection of a“YES” button provided in the e-mail. In response to receiving the userinput, the media guidance application may increase the strength ofassociation between the term “middle-earth movie” and the candidatecomponent movie “The Hobbit”. In some aspects, if the user denies theassociation between the term and the candidate component, the mediaguidance application may decrease the strength of association betweenthe term and the candidate component.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may change the strengthof association by identifying that the candidate component is associatedwith a first node in the knowledge graph, the term is associated with asecond node in the knowledge graph, and changing the value associatedwith an edge connecting the first node to the second node. For example,“The Hobbit” may be one node in the knowledge graph and “middle-earthmovie” may be a second node in the knowledge graph. The media guidanceapplication may increase the value associated with an edge connectingthe first node and the second node in response to receiving the userinput, to represent an increased strength of association. In someaspects, the media guidance application may modify the strength ofassociation by creating a component in the knowledge graph. For example,the media guidance application may create a node in the knowledge graphcorresponding to the term “middle-earth movie”, create an edgeconnecting the new node to the node representing the movie “The Hobbit”,and then change the value associated with the edge.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may present the userwith a next-highest-ranked candidate component of a plurality ofcandidate components if the user denies an association between the termand the candidate component. For example, the media guidance applicationmay rank a plurality of candidate components associated with the term“middle-earth movie” as follows, based on their release dates with morerecent releases being ranked higher: “The Hobbit”, “The Two Towers”, and“The Fellowship of the Ring”. The media guidance application may receiveuser input denying an association between the term “middle-earth movie”and “The Hobbit”, by receiving a user selection of a “NO” button torespond to the question “In your message, did you mean ‘The Hobbit’?”.In response to receiving the user input, the media guidance applicationmay choose “The Two Towers” as the candidate component, and request userinput confirming whether the term “middle-earth movie” is associatedwith the candidate component “The Two Towers”.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows in illustrative example of a display screen generated by amedia guidance application, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 2 shows another illustrative example of a display screen generatedby a media guidance application, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment device, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system, in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative embodiment of user equipment on which acommunication from the user and information provided by the mediaguidance application are displayed, in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative embodiment of a portion of a knowledgegraph, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in updating aknowledge graph, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for updating a knowledgegraph using user communications, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and systems are provided for updating a knowledge graph. Theknowledge graph may be updated based on a user's casual communication toprovide more relevant recommendations to the user. As referred toherein, a knowledge graph may be a collection of data organized to storerelationships between different pieces of information. In someembodiments, the media guidance application may receive a usercommunication. In some aspects, the user communication may be a textualcommunication such as an e-mail, a text message, a post on a socialmedia website, a letter, or a chat message. In some aspects, the usercommunication may be verbal, such as a telephone conversation, avoicemail message, a video call, a conference call, or a videorecording.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may isolate a termof the user communication. For example, the media guidance applicationmay receive a user communication that is a text message from a user tohis friend saying “Want to see the middle-earth movie this weekend?” Themedia guidance application may isolate the term “middle-earth movie”from the user communication. In some aspects, the media guidanceapplication may isolate the term from the user communication usingtemplates. For example, the media guidance application may match theuser communication to a template such as “Want to see the [TERM] is thisweekend?” In some aspects, the media guidance application may isolatethe term based on pre-determined heuristics. For example, the mediaguidance application may use a heuristic that the subject of thesentence should be isolated to isolate the term “middle-earth movie”from the user communication. The term may be any portion of the usercommunication. In some embodiments, the term may be the entire usercommunication.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may identify acandidate component of a knowledge graph associated with the term. Forexample, the media guidance application may isolate the term“middle-earth movie” in the user communication of a text message saying“Want to see the middle-earth movie this weekend?” The media guidanceapplication may identify the movie “The Hobbit” in a knowledge graph asbeing a candidate component associated with the term, as “The Hobbit” isa movie about a fictional land called “Middle-Earth”. In some aspects,the media guidance application may identify the candidate component bycross-referencing the term with the knowledge graph. For example, themedia guidance application may cross-reference the term “middle-earthmovie” with entries in a database comprising titles and synopses ofseveral movies to identify that the movie “The Hobbit” may be associatedwith the term.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may request userinput directed to confirming whether the term is associated with thecandidate component. For example, the media guidance application mayidentify “The Hobbit” as a candidate component associated with the term“middle-earth movie” in the user text message saying “Want to see themiddle-earth movie this weekend?” The media guidance application maysend the user an e-mail asking “In your message, did you mean ‘TheHobbit’?” The media guidance application may present the user withoptions to confirm or deny whether the term “middle-earth movie” isassociated with the candidate component “The Hobbit.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may request user inputconfirming whether a strength of association between the term and thecandidate component should be changed. As referred to herein, a strengthof association corresponds to a value in a knowledge graph. The value inthe knowledge graph may be associated with an association between a termand a candidate component. For example, the media guidance applicationmay identify “Amber Heard” as a candidate component associated with anisolated term “Johnny Depp” in a user text message saying “I heardJohnny Depp married Amber Heard!” The media guidance application mayrequest user input confirming whether the strength of associationbetween the term “Johnny Depp” and the candidate component “Amber Heard”should be changed by sending the user an e-mail asking “Do you think theconnection between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is getting stronger?” Inresponse to receiving user input confirming that the connection betweenJohnny Depp and Amber Heard is getting stronger, the media guidanceapplication may increase the strength of association between the term“Johnny Depp” and the candidate concept “Amber Heard”. The mediaguidance application may cause a value in the knowledge graph containingthe candidate concept “Amber Heard” to be changed to increase thestrength of association between the term “Johnny Depp” and the candidateconcept “Amber Heard”.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may modify astrength of association between the term and the candidate component inresponse to receiving the user input. For example, the media guidanceapplication may request user input by sending the user an e-mail asking“In your message, did you mean ‘The Hobbit’?” The media guidanceapplication may determine that the user confirmed the association if itreceives a user selection of a “YES” button provided in the e-mail. Inresponse to receiving the user input, the media guidance application mayincrease the strength of association between the term “middle-earthmovie” and the candidate component movie “The Hobbit”. In some aspects,if the user denies the association between the term and the candidatecomponent, the media guidance application may decrease the strength ofassociation between the term and the candidate component.

The amount of content available to users in any given content deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate content selections and easily identify content that they maydesire. An application that provides such guidance is referred to hereinas an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, a mediaguidance application or a guidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the content for which they provide guidance. One typical type ofmedia guidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications maygenerate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigateamong, locate and select content. As referred to herein, the terms“media asset” and “content” should be understood to mean anelectronically consumable user asset, such as television programming, aswell as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand(VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadablecontent, Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information,pictures, rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles,books, electronic books, blogs, advertisements, chat sessions, socialmedia, applications, games, and/or any other media or multimedia and/orcombination of the same. Guidance applications also allow users tonavigate among and locate content. As referred to herein, the term“multimedia” should be understood to mean content that utilizes at leasttwo different content forms described above, for example, text, audio,images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be recorded,played, displayed or accessed by user equipment devices, but can also bepart of a live performance.

The media guidance application and/or any instructions for performingany of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on computerreadable media. Computer readable media includes any media capable ofstoring data. The computer readable media may be transitory, including,but not limited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals,or may be non-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile andnon-volatile computer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk,floppy disk, USB drive, DVD, CD, media cards, register memory, processorcaches, Random Access Memory (“RAM”), etc.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment deviceson which they traditionally did not. As referred to herein, the phrase“user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronicdevice,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “mediadevice” should be understood to mean any device for accessing thecontent described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-topbox, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellitetelevision, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), adigital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, aDVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, aBLU-RAY recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PCmedia server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationarytelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, aportable video player, a portable music player, a portable gamingmachine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment, computingequipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the same. In someembodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing screenand a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angledscreens. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a frontfacing camera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipmentdevices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same contentavailable through a television. Consequently, media guidance may beavailable on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be forcontent available only through a television, for content available onlythrough one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or forcontent available both through a television and one or more of the othertypes of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may beprovided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or asstand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Variousdevices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications aredescribed in more detail below.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the phrase “mediaguidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any datarelated to content or data used in operating the guidance application.For example, the guidance data may include program information, guidanceapplication settings, user preferences, user profile information, medialistings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcastchannels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parentalcontrol ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information,actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos,etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, 3D,etc.), advertisement information (e.g., text, images, media clips,etc.), on-demand information, blogs, websites, and any other type ofguidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locatedesired content selections.

FIGS. 1-2 show illustrative display screens that may be used to providemedia guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS. 1-2 may beimplemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform. While thedisplays of FIGS. 1-2 are illustrated as full screen displays, they mayalso be fully or partially overlaid over content being displayed. A usermay indicate a desire to access content information by selecting aselectable option provided in a display screen (e.g., a menu option, alistings option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicatedbutton (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user inputinterface or device. In response to the user's indication, the mediaguidance application may provide a display screen with media guidancedata organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in agrid, by time, by channel, by source, by content type, by category(e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories ofprogramming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other organizationcriteria.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid of a program listings display 100arranged by time and channel that also enables access to different typesof content in a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with:(1) a column of channel/content type identifiers 104, where eachchannel/content type identifier (which is a cell in the column)identifies a different channel or content type available; and (2) a rowof time identifiers 106, where each time identifier (which is a cell inthe row) identifies a time block of programming. Grid 102 also includescells of program listings, such as program listing 108, where eachlisting provides the title of the program provided on the listing'sassociated channel and time. With a user input device, a user can selectprogram listings by moving highlight region 110. Information relating tothe program listing selected by highlight region 110 may be provided inprogram information region 112. Region 112 may include, for example, theprogram title, the program description, the time the program is provided(if applicable), the channel the program is on (if applicable), theprogram's rating, and other desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., contentthat is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipmentdevices at a predetermined time and is provided according to aschedule), the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipmentdevice at any time and is not provided according to a schedule).Non-linear programming may include content from different contentsources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content(e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above orother storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demandcontent may include movies or any other content provided by a particularcontent provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “CurbYour Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content throughan Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 102 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programmingincluding on-demand listing 114, recorded content listing 116, andInternet content listing 118. A display combining media guidance datafor content from different types of content sources is sometimesreferred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of thetypes of media guidance data that may be displayed that are differentthan display 100 may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings114, 116, and 118 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayedin grid 102 to indicate that selection of these listings may provideaccess to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings,or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings forthese content types may be included directly in grid 102. Additionalmedia guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selectingone of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a userinput device may affect the display in a similar manner as selectingnavigational icons 120.)

Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, andoptions region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 122 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscriptionprogramming), is currently available for viewing, will be available forviewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, andmay correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the content listingsin grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for products or servicesrelated or unrelated to the content displayed in grid 102. Advertisement124 may be selectable and provide further information about content,provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing ofcontent, a product, or a service, provide content relating to theadvertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 may be targeted based on a user'sprofile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of displayprovided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.

While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may beprovided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over content or a guidanceapplication display or embedded within a display. Advertisements mayalso include text, images, rotating images, video clips, or other typesof content described above. Advertisements may be stored in a userequipment device having a guidance application, in a database connectedto the user equipment, in a remote location (including streaming mediaservers), or on other storage means, or a combination of theselocations. Providing advertisements in a media guidance application isdiscussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2003/0110499, filed Jan. 17, 2003; Ward, IIIet al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29, 2004; and Schein et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It will beappreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidanceapplication display screens of the embodiments described herein.

Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types ofcontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user byselecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignablebutton on a user input device. The selectable options within optionsregion 126 may concern features related to program listings in grid 102or may include options available from a main menu display. Featuresrelated to program listings may include searching for other air times orways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling seriesrecording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a mainmenu display may include search options, VOD options, parental controloptions, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronizationoptions, second screen device options, options to access various typesof media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premiumservice, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browseoverlay, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channelsbased on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display ofchannels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internetcontent (e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail,electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desiredcustomizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the content theuser accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with theguidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application mayobtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to aparticular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the useraccesses, such as www.allrovi.com, from other media guidanceapplications the user accesses, from other interactive applications theuser accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.),and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that themedia guidance application may access. As a result, a user can beprovided with a unified guidance application experience across theuser's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 4 . Additionalpersonalized media guidance application features are described ingreater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2 . Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 forcontent information organized based on content type, genre, and/or otherorganization criteria. In display 200, television listings option 204 isselected, thus providing listings 206, 208, 210, and 212 as broadcastprogram listings. In display 200 the listings may provide graphicalimages including cover art, still images from the content, video clippreviews, live video from the content, or other types of content thatindicate to a user the content being described by the media guidancedata in the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also beaccompanied by text to provide further information about the contentassociated with the listing. For example, listing 208 may include morethan one portion, including media portion 214 and text portion 216.Media portion 214 and/or text portion 216 may be selectable to viewcontent in full-screen or to view information related to the contentdisplayed in media portion 214 (e.g., to view listings for the channelthat the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 200 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 206 islarger than listings 208, 210, and 212), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider orbased on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Dec. 29, 2005,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and itsdisplay screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 3 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 300. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 4 .User equipment device 300 may receive content and data via input/output(hereinafter “I/O”) path 302. I/O path 302 may provide content (e.g.,broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, contentavailable over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN),and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 304, which includesprocessing circuitry 306 and storage 308. Control circuitry 304 may beused to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable datausing I/O path 302. I/O path 302 may connect control circuitry 304 (andspecifically processing circuitry 306) to one or more communicationspaths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more ofthese communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3 toavoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 306. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executesinstructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e.,storage 308). Specifically, control circuitry 304 may be instructed bythe media guidance application to perform the functions discussed aboveand below. For example, the media guidance application may provideinstructions to control circuitry 304 to generate the media guidancedisplays. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 304 may be based on instructions received from the mediaguidance application.

In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. The instructions forcarrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on theguidance application server. Communications circuitry may include acable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, adigital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card,or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or anyother suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involvethe Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4 ). Inaddition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enablespeer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communicationof user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (describedin more detail below).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 308 thatis part of control circuitry 304. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 308 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance data described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used(e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-basedstorage, described in relation to FIG. 4 , may be used to supplementstorage 308 or instead of storage 308.

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting content into the preferred output format of the userequipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and todisplay, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digitalcircuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or moregeneral purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may beprovided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and recordfunctions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,etc.). If storage 308 is provided as a separate device from userequipment 300, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multipletuners) may be associated with storage 308.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 304 using user inputinterface 310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. Display 312 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300. For example, display 312 may be a touchscreen ortouch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface 310may be integrated with or combined with display 312. Display 312 may beone or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD)for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperature polysilicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display, activematrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display, cathoderay tube display, light-emitting diode display, electroluminescentdisplay, plasma display panel, high-performance addressing display,thin-film transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display,surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser television,carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric modulatordisplay, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images.In some embodiments, display 312 may be HDTV-capable. In someembodiments, display 312 may be a 3D display, and the interactive mediaguidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. Avideo card or graphics card may generate the output to the display 312.The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated renderingof 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry304. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 304.Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component ofvideos and other content displayed on display 312 may be played throughspeakers 314. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to areceiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers314.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone applicationwholly-implemented on user equipment device 300. In such an approach,instructions of the application are stored locally (e.g., in storage308), and data for use by the application is downloaded on a periodicbasis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, orusing another suitable approach). Control circuitry 304 may retrieveinstructions of the application from storage 308 and process theinstructions to generate any of the displays discussed herein. Based onthe processed instructions, control circuitry 304 may determine whataction to perform when input is received from input interface 310. Forexample, movement of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicated bythe processed instructions when input interface 310 indicates that anup/down button was selected.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a client-serverbased application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented onuser equipment device 300 is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests toa server remote to the user equipment device 300. In one example of aclient-server based guidance application, control circuitry 304 runs aweb browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server. Forexample, the remote server may store the instructions for theapplication in a storage device. The remote server may process thestored instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304) andgenerate the displays discussed above and below. The client device mayreceive the displays generated by the remote server and may display thecontent of the displays locally on equipment device 300. This way, theprocessing of the instructions is performed remotely by the server whilethe resulting displays are provided locally on equipment device 300.Equipment device 300 may receive inputs from the user via inputinterface 310 and transmit those inputs to the remote server forprocessing and generating the corresponding displays. For example,equipment device 300 may transmit a communication to the remote serverindicating that an up/down button was selected via input interface 310.The remote server may process instructions in accordance with that inputand generate a display of the application corresponding to the input(e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). The generated display isthen transmitted to equipment device 300 for presentation to the user.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded andinterpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (runby control circuitry 304). In some embodiments, the guidance applicationmay be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received bycontrol circuitry 304 as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by auser agent running on control circuitry 304. For example, the guidanceapplication may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, theguidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files thatare received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitablemiddleware executed by control circuitry 304. In some of suchembodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

User equipment device 300 of FIG. 3 can be implemented in system 400 ofFIG. 4 as user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404,wireless user communications device 406, or any other type of userequipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gamingmachine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to hereincollectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may besubstantially similar to user equipment devices described above. Userequipment devices, on which a media guidance application may beimplemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of anetwork of devices. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system featuresdescribed above in connection with FIG. 3 may not be classified solelyas user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, or awireless user communications device 406. For example, user televisionequipment 402 may, like some user computer equipment 404, beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 404 may, like some television equipment 402, includea tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may have the same layout on various different typesof user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of theuser equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 404, theguidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a webbrowser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled downfor wireless user communications devices 406.

In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device and also more than one of eachtype of user equipment device.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user televisionequipment 402, user computer equipment 404, wireless user communicationsdevice 406) may be referred to as a “second screen device.” For example,a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first userequipment device. The content presented on the second screen device maybe any suitable content that supplements the content presented on thefirst device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides aninterface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the firstdevice. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured forinteracting with other second screen devices or for interacting with asocial network. The second screen device can be located in the same roomas the first device, a different room from the first device but in thesame house or building, or in a different building from the firstdevice.

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the web site www.allrovi.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can changethe guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless ofwhether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device.In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user,as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 414.Namely, user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, andwireless user communications device 406 are coupled to communicationsnetwork 414 via communications paths 408, 410, and 412, respectively.Communications network 414 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, orother types of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together include oneor more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-opticpath, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g.,IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wirelesssignals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path orcombination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn with dotted lines toindicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 it is awireless path and paths 408 and 410 are drawn as solid lines to indicatethey are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, ifdesired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be providedby one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a singlepath in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 408, 410, and 412, as well as other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 414.

System 400 includes content source 416 and media guidance data source418 coupled to communications network 414 via communication paths 420and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412. Communications with the content source 416 and media guidancedata source 418 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418, but only one of each isshown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The differenttypes of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418 may be integrated as onesource device. Although communications between sources 416 and 418 withuser equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 are shown as throughcommunications network 414, in some embodiments, sources 416 and 418 maycommunicate directly with user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 viacommunication paths (not shown) such as those described above inconnection with paths 408, 410, and 412.

Content source 416 may include one or more types of content distributionequipment including a television distribution facility, cable systemheadend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g.,television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediatedistribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demandmedia servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned bythe National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by theAmerican Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Content source 416 may be the originator ofcontent (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) ormay not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand contentprovider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs fordownloading, etc.). Content source 416 may include cable sources,satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers,over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Contentsource 416 may also include a remote media server used to storedifferent types of content (including video content selected by a user),in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely storedcontent to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connectionwith Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance data, such asthe media guidance data described above. Media guidance data may beprovided to the user equipment devices using any suitable approach. Insome embodiments, the guidance application may be a stand-aloneinteractive television program guide that receives program guide datavia a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed). Programschedule data and other guidance data may be provided to the userequipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-band digitalsignal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitabledata transmission technique. Program schedule data and other mediaguidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog ordigital television channels.

In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 418may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from aserver, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipmentdevice. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing onthe user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 418 to obtainguidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of dateor when the user equipment device receives a request from the user toreceive data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment withany suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specifiedperiod of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to arequest from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 418 mayprovide user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 the media guidanceapplication itself or software updates for the media guidanceapplication.

In some embodiments, the media guidance data may include viewer data.For example, the viewer data may include current and/or historical useractivity information (e.g., what content the user typically watches,what times of day the user watches content, whether the user interactswith a social network, at what times the user interacts with a socialnetwork to post information, what types of content the user typicallywatches (e.g., pay TV or free TV), mood, brain activity information,etc.). The media guidance data may also include subscription data. Forexample, the subscription data may identify to which sources or servicesa given user subscribes and/or to which sources or services the givenuser has previously subscribed but later terminated access (e.g.,whether the user subscribes to premium channels, whether the user hasadded a premium level of services, whether the user has increasedInternet speed). In some embodiments, the viewer data and/or thesubscription data may identify patterns of a given user for a period ofmore than one year. The media guidance data may include a model (e.g., asurvivor model) used for generating a score that indicates a likelihooda given user will terminate access to a service/source. For example, themedia guidance application may process the viewer data with thesubscription data using the model to generate a value or score thatindicates a likelihood of whether the given user will terminate accessto a particular service or source. In particular, a higher score mayindicate a higher level of confidence that the user will terminateaccess to a particular service or source. Based on the score, the mediaguidance application may generate promotions and advertisements thatentice the user to keep the particular service or source indicated bythe score as one to which the user will likely terminate access.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, themedia guidance application may be implemented as software or a set ofexecutable instructions which may be stored in storage 308, and executedby control circuitry 304 of a user equipment device 300. In someembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only a client application resides on the userequipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. Forexample, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as aclient application on control circuitry 304 of user equipment device 300and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., mediaguidance data source 418) running on control circuitry of the remoteserver. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such asmedia guidance data source 418), the media guidance application mayinstruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance applicationdisplays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipmentdevices. The server application may instruct the control circuitry ofthe media guidance data source 418 to transmit data for storage on theuser equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry ofthe receiving user equipment to generate the guidance applicationdisplays.

Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices402, 404, and 406 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT contentdelivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any userequipment device described above, to receive content that is transferredover the Internet, including any content described above, in addition tocontent received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content isdelivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet serviceprovider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP maynot be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, orredistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets providedby the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers includeYOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IPpackets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is atrademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu,LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively providemedia guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or mediaguidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidanceapplications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications),or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored onthe user equipment device.

Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each otherfor the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. Theembodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset ofthese approaches, or in a system employing other approaches fordelivering content and providing media guidance. The following fourapproaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG. 4 .

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 414.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types ofuser equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with eachother to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content fromuser computer equipment to a portable video player or portable musicplayer.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, someusers may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobiledevices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issuedOct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith content source 416 to access content. Specifically, within a home,users of user television equipment 402 and user computer equipment 404may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locatedesirable content. Users may also access the media guidance applicationoutside of the home using wireless user communications devices 406 tonavigate among and locate desirable content.

In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloudcomputing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computingenvironment, various types of computing services for content sharing,storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networkingsites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing andstorage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloudcan include a collection of server computing devices, which may belocated centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-basedservices to various types of users and devices connected via a networksuch as the Internet via communications network 414. These cloudresources may include one or more content sources 416 and one or moremedia guidance data sources 418. In addition or in the alternative, theremote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such asuser television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, and wirelessuser communications device 406. For example, the other user equipmentdevices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamedvideo. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operate in apeer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, contentsharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well asaccess to any content described above, for user equipment devices.Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing serviceproviders, or through other providers of online services. For example,the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, acontent sharing site, a social networking site, or other services viawhich user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others onconnected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipmentdevice to store content to the cloud and to receive content from thecloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-storedcontent.

A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders,digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, andhandheld computing devices, to record content. The user can uploadcontent to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, forexample, from user computer equipment 404 or wireless usercommunications device 406 having content capture feature. Alternatively,the user can first transfer the content to a user equipment device, suchas user computer equipment 404. The user equipment device storing thecontent uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmissionservice on communications network 414. In some embodiments, the userequipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipmentdevices can access the content directly from the user equipment deviceon which the user stored the content.

Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, forexample, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktopapplication, a mobile application, and/or any combination of accessapplications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloudclient that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or theuser equipment device may have some functionality without access tocloud resources. For example, some applications running on the userequipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications deliveredas a service over the Internet, while other applications may be storedand run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user devicemay receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. Forexample, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource whiledownloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device candownload content from multiple cloud resources for more efficientdownloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloudresources for processing operations such as the processing operationsperformed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 3 .

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative embodiment of user equipment on which acommunication from the user and information provided by the mediaguidance application are displayed in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure. Screenshots 500 depict an embodiment through whichthe media guidance application may obtain information from a user thatis used to update a knowledge graph. User device 502 is depicted asbeing a smartphone with the media guidance application. In someembodiments, user device 502 may be other types of user equipment withthe media guidance application. For example, user device 502 may be anyone of user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, anduser wireless communications device 406, without departing from thescope of this disclosure. User device 502 may be connected tocommunications network 414. For example, user device 502 may beconnected to a phone network to enable the user to send text messages,and to an internet network to enable the user to receive e-mailmessages.

User communication 504 is depicted as being a text message in FIG. 5 .However, user communication 504 may be any type of a textual or verbaluser communication. Textual user communications may include textmessages, e-mails, letters, blog posts, updates on a social mediawebsite, and chat messages. Verbal user communications may include phonecalls, video calls, voicemail messages, and video messages. Textual usercommunications may be displayed on display 312. Verbal usercommunications 504 may be output through speakers 314. The mediaguidance application may enable the user to create user communication504 using user input interface 310. User communication 504 may be sentfrom the user to one or more of the user's contacts throughcommunications network 314. The media guidance application may interceptuser communication 504 when it is sent from the user to one or more ofthe user's contacts. In some embodiments, user communication 504 may bea communication sent from the user to the media guidance applicationusing user input interface 310. For example, the media guidanceapplication may receive user communication 504 sent from the user to themedia guidance application, saying “I want to see the middle-earth moviethis weekend”. In response to receiving this user communication 504, themedia guidance application may isolate the term “middle-earth movie”,identify that the candidate component “The Hobbit” is related to theisolated term, and generate query 506 to ask the user to confirm if theisolated term is associated with the candidate component. The mediaguidance application may modify a strength of association between theterm and the candidate component based on the user's input.

The media guidance application may isolate a term in user communication504 using control circuitry 304. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may isolate the term by identifying the subject of usercommunication 504. For example, the subject of user communication 504“Want to see the middle-earth movie this weekend?” may be “middle-earthmovie”. The media guidance application may isolate the term“middle-earth movie”. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may store templates of user communications in a database instorage circuitry 308. The media guidance application maycross-reference user communication 504 with the templates stored in thedatabase to identify a template closest to user communication 504, anduse the template to isolate a term in user communication 504. Forexample, the media guidance application may store a template “Want tosee [TERM] this weekend?” in a database in storage circuitry 308. Themedia guidance application may cross-reference user communication 504with the storage circuitry to determine that the template matches usercommunication 504. The media guidance application may use the templateto isolate the term “middle-earth movie” from user communication 504.

In some embodiments, user communication 504 may be a verbalcommunication. The media guidance application may determine a textualtranscript of the verbal communication, and then identify the subject ofthe textual transcript. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may remove speech artifacts such as pauses, laughing, orfillers such as “umm” from the textual transcript of the verbalcommunication.

The media guidance application may identify a candidate component of aknowledge graph associated with the term “middle-earth movie”. Forexample, the media guidance application may identify that the movie “TheHobbit” is a node in the knowledge graph that is a candidate componentassociated with the term “middle-earth movie”. This process is describedin more detail in relation to FIG. 6 .

The media guidance application may then request user input directed toconfirming whether the term is associated with the candidate component.The media guidance application may use processing circuitry 306 togenerate a natural language query 506. The media guidance applicationmay present query 506 to the user as a pop-up, an e-mail, a voice mail,or one or more of any of the types of user communication 504. In FIG. 5, media guidance application presents query 506 to the user as ane-mail. The media guidance application may present query 506 to the userthrough display 312 or speakers 314. The media guidance application maystore several templates in a database using storage circuitry 308. Themedia guidance application may identify an appropriate template and useit to form query 506. For example, the media guidance application maystore template “In your [COMMUNICATION] to [CONTACT], did you mean[CANDIDATE COMPONENT]?” in a database using storage circuitry 308. Themedia guidance application may identify that this template needsinformation about the type of user communication 504, the contact usercommunication 504 is intended for, and a candidate component. The mediaguidance application may determine that the type of user communication504 is “message”, the contact user communication 504 is intended for is“Tim”, and the candidate component is “The Hobbit”. The media guidanceapplication may then generate query 506 that says “In your message toTim, did you mean ‘The Hobbit’?” The media guidance application maypresent query 506 to the user on user device 502 through display 312 orspeakers 314.

The media guidance application may present query 506 to the user on userdevice 502, or any other device associated with the user. For example,the media guidance application may receive user communication 504 that auser sent using a smartphone user device 502. The media guidanceapplication may determine that the user's attention has shifted to usertelevision equipment 402 by tracking the user's gaze or body language,monitoring the user's activity, or accessing past user behaviorpatterns. The media guidance application may present query 506 on usertelevision equipment 402 so that the user receives query 506 through adevice that the user is paying attention to.

The media guidance application may format query 506 differently based onthe device it is presented on. For example, the media guidanceapplication may format query 506 to be suitable for display 312 if themedia guidance application is presenting query 506 on a television,while the media guidance application may format query 506 to be suitablefor speakers 314 if the media guidance application is presenting query506 on a radio. The media guidance application may present query 506 ona different device if the user does not respond to query 506 on userdevice 502 within a threshold amount of time. For example, if the userdoes not respond to query 506 on user device 502 within a week, themedia guidance application may display query 506 on user televisionequipment 402, user computer equipment 404, or wireless usercommunications device 406.

The media guidance application uses query 506 to request user inputdirected to confirming whether the term “middle-earth movie” isassociated with the candidate component of the movie “The Hobbit”. Themedia guidance application may receive confirmation that the term“middle-earth movie” is associated with the candidate component “TheHobbit” by receiving a user selection of affirmative button 508. Themedia guidance application may receive user input denying that the term“middle-earth movie” is associated with the candidate component “TheHobbit” by receiving user selection of negative button 510. In someembodiments, the user input may take the form of user conversation thatis parsed by the media guidance application. For example, afterpresenting query 506, the media guidance application may receive userinput in the form of a verbal sentence stating, “Yes, that's what Imeant.” The media guidance application may receive this user input fromuser device 502 through user input interface 310 and parse it todetermine that the user input confirms that the term “middle-earthmovie” is related to the candidate component “The Hobbit”. The mediaguidance application may receive user input through any medium describedin relation to user input interface 310.

In response to receiving a user selection of affirmative button 508, themedia guidance application may increase the strength of associationbetween the term “middle-earth movie” and the candidate component “TheHobbit”. In response to receiving a user selection of negative button510, the media guidance application may decrease the strength ofassociation between the term “middle-earth movie” and the candidatecomponent “The Hobbit”.

In some embodiments, query 506 may be a query directed to determiningwhether a strength of association between a term and a candidatecomponent should be changed. For example, user communication 504 may say“I heard Johnny Depp married Amber Heard!” The media guidanceapplication may isolate the term “Johnny Depp” in user communication 504and identify a candidate component “Amber Heard” in the knowledge graph.The media guidance application may generate query 506 to determine ifthe strength of association between the term “Johnny Depp” and thecandidate component “Amber Heard” should be changed. The media guidanceapplication may generate query 506 that says, “Do you think theconnection between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is getting stronger?” Insome embodiments, the media guidance application may generate fordisplay affirmative button 508 and negative button 510 on display 312 toallow the user to respond to query 506. In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may generate a slider to allow the user to respondto query 506 by indicating the strength of connection between “JohnnyDepp” and “Amber Heard”.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may presentadditional information about the candidate component to the user. Forexample, the media guidance application may generate for display usingdisplay 312 additional information 512. The media guidance applicationmay identify additional information 512 by cross-referencing thecandidate component with information available from media content source416 and media guidance data source 418. For example, the media guidanceapplication may cross-reference the candidate component “The Hobbit”with information about currently playing movies at theatres near theuser's current location. The user's location may be determined using GPS(Global Positioning System) circuitry in user device 502. As referred toherein, GPS circuitry is circuitry that uses satellite data to determinea location of user device 502. In some embodiments, user device 502 mayuse any other circuitry configured to determine a location of a user oruser device 502. For example, user device 502 may determine its locationby determining the location of the Wi-Fi hotspot or cell tower it isconnected to. The media guidance application may determine that themovie “The Hobbit” is playing at Theatre Superb at 5:30 pm. The mediaguidance application may further determine that Theatre Superb is twomiles from the user's current location and tickets at Theatre Superbcost $13. The media guidance application may generate for displayadditional information 512 for the user. In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may purchase tickets for the user in response toreceiving a user selection of additional information 512.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may identify aplurality of candidate components associated with the term in usercommunication 504. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine that candidate components “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of theRings Trilogy” are associated with the term “middle-earth movie”. Thismay be because both “The Hobbit” and the movies in “The Lord of theRings Trilogy” take place in a fictional land called “Middle-Earth”. Themedia guidance application may rank the plurality of candidatecomponents according to any applicable criteria. Applicable criteria mayinclude dates associated with each of the candidate components,relevance to the isolated term, strength of association with theisolated term, or shared metadata with the isolated term. For example,the media guidance application may rank the candidate component “TheHobbit” higher than the candidate component “The Lord of the RingsTrilogy” as “The Hobbit” has a later release date.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may provideinformation about an additional candidate component along with query506. For example, the media guidance application may provide informationabout the additional component “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy” inaddition to displaying query 506. Additional information 512 may containinformation about “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy”, such as a plotsynopsis, a list of actors in the trilogy, or DVD rental locations foreach of the movies in “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy”.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate a queryabout the additional component and the term, in response to receiving adenial through negative button 510 of query 506 directed to confirmingwhether a term is associated with a candidate component. For example,the media guidance application may rank the candidate component “TheHobbit” higher than the candidate component “The Lord of the RingsTrilogy” while identifying candidate components associated with the term“middle-earth movie”. This ranking may be based on release dates, as“The Hobbit” was released after “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy”. Themedia guidance application may generate query 506 associated with thehighest ranked candidate component to confirm an association between theterm “middle-earth movie” and the candidate component “The Hobbit”. Themedia guidance application may receive a denial of the associationbetween the term “middle-earth movie” and the candidate component “TheHobbit” through user selection of negative button 510. The mediaguidance application may generate a new query directed to confirmingwhether the term is associated with a next-highest-ranked candidatecomponent. For example, the media guidance application may generate aquery saying “In your message to Tim, did you mean ‘The Lord of theRings Trilogy’?”

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative embodiment of a portion of a knowledgegraph in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Knowledgegraph 600 may be stored using storage circuitry 308. Knowledge graph 600may be stored locally on user device 502, or stored remotely andaccessed through communications network 414. Knowledge graph 600 may bestored entirely in one location, or be split into sections and eachsection stored at one of a plurality of locations. User device 502 maylocally cache frequently used portions of the knowledge graph for quickretrieval.

Knowledge graph 600 is composed of nodes and edges. In some embodiments,knowledge graph 600 may be represented as pointer tables in storagecircuitry 308. In some embodiments, data structures such as trees,bi-directional graphs, buckets, or arrays may be used to representknowledge graph 600 in storage circuitry 308.

Although knowledge graph 600 is discussed in relation to FIG. 6 as beingcomposed of nodes and edges, knowledge graph 600 may be any collectionof data that represents objects and relationships between objects.Knowledge graph 600 may include databases, lists, and collections whichrepresent objects and their associated relationships. Knowledge graph600 may not necessarily use nodes and edges to represent objects andtheir relationships. Knowledge graph 600 as shown in FIG. 6 is merely anillustrative embodiment that may be used to represent objects and theirrelationships, and other representations may be used without departingfrom the scope of this invention. Knowledge graphs and their featuresare described in greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/501,504, filed Sep. 30, 2014, U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/500,309, filed Sep. 29, 2014, and U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/448,308, filed Jul. 31, 2014, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

Each node in knowledge graph 600 may be associated with a candidatecomponent or a term. For example, node 602 is associated with the term“middle-earth movie” while node 604 is associated with the candidatecomponent of the movie “The Hobbit”. Each node may be associated withmetadata. For example, node 604 and node 608 may be associated withmetadata describing that both nodes are associated with movies that takeplace in the fictional land of “Middle-Earth”. An edge may be createdbetween node 604 and node 608 to represent this similarity in metadata.

In some embodiments, edges may connect nodes of different categories.For example, nodes 604 and 608 are both connected to node 606, eventhough nodes 604 and 608 are associated with movies and node 606 isassociated with a character. In some embodiments, nodes may be connectedto a plurality of other nodes. For example, nodes 612 and 610 are bothconnected to two other nodes: nodes 608 and 614. In some embodiments,knowledge graph 600 may represent both fictional and real connections.For example, node 616 associated with the actor “Johnny Depp” and node618 associated with the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” areconnected with an edge that represents a fictional connection, as JohnnyDepp played a fictional character in the movie “Charlie and theChocolate Factory”. Node 616 is also connected to node 620 associatedwith actress “Amber Heard” with edge 624 that represents a realconnection, as Johnny Depp is married to Amber Heard in real life.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may identify aplurality of candidate components associated with a term bycross-referencing the term with knowledge graph 600 to identify a nodecorresponding to the term, and then identifying candidate componentsconnected to the node corresponding to the term. For example, the mediaguidance application may identify that node 602 corresponds to the term“middle-earth movie” isolated from user communication 504. The mediaguidance application may then determine that “The Hobbit” is a candidatecomponent associated with the term “middle-earth movie” as node 604associated with “The Hobbit” is connected to node 602 through edge 622.The media guidance application may further determine that “The Lord ofthe Rings Trilogy” is another candidate component associated with theterm “middle-earth movie” as node 608 associated with “The Lord of theRings Trilogy” is connected to node 602 through node 604.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may identify aplurality of candidate components associated with a term by comparingthe term to the metadata associated with nodes in knowledge graph 600.For example, both nodes 604 and 608 have metadata of “Middle-Earth” asthe movies associated with both nodes are located in the fictional landof “Middle-Earth”. The media guidance application may cross-referencethe term “middle-earth movie” with the metadata associated with nodes604 and 608 to determine that both nodes 604 and 608 correspond tomovies that are candidate components associated to the term“middle-earth movie”. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may only compare the metadata of nodes in knowledge graph600 to the term if the term is not a node in knowledge graph 600. Forexample, the media guidance application may only compare the metadata ofnodes 604 and 608 to the term “middle-earth movie” if node 602corresponding to the term “middle-earth movie” is not present inknowledge graph 600.

In some embodiments, edge 622 may be associated with a value thatrepresents a strength of association. A higher value may correspond to ahigher strength of association. Values may be represented as percentvalues, or as values on any gradient scale with or without endpoints.The media guidance application may modify this value in response toreceiving user confirmation about an association between the termcorresponding to node 602 and the candidate component corresponding tonode 604. For example, the media guidance application may present to auser query 506 asking for confirmation of association between the term“middle-earth movie” and the candidate component “The Hobbit”, andreceive user input of a user selection of affirmative button 508. Inresponse to receiving the user input, the media guidance application maydetermine that the term “middle-earth movie” corresponds to node 602.The media guidance application may further determine that the candidatecomponent “The Hobbit” corresponds to node 604. The media guidanceapplication may determine that edge 622 connects nodes 602 and 604, andmodify a value associated with edge 622. The media guidance applicationmay modify the value by instructing media content source 416 or mediaguidance data source 418 through communications network 414 to changethe value associated with edge 622. In some embodiments, the valueassociated with edge 622 may be incremented by a fixed value for everyuser who confirms an association between nodes 602 and 604. In someembodiments, the value associated with edge 622 may be changed based ona ratio between the number of users who confirmed an association betweennodes 602 and 604, and the number of users who denied an associationbetween nodes 602 and 604. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may instruct media content source 416 or media guidance datasource 418 to change the value by transmitting the new absolute valueand an identifier of edge 622 through communications network 414. Insome embodiments, the media guidance application may only transmit therelative change in value and an identifier of edge 622.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may decrease thevalue associated with edge 622. For example, the media guidanceapplication may receive a user input of selection of negative button510, and determine that the strength of association between the term“middle-earth movie” and the candidate component “The Hobbit” should bedecreased. In response to the determination, the media guidanceapplication may decrease the value associated with edge 622 byinstructing media content source 416 or media guidance data source 418to change the value.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may add nodes andedges to the knowledge graph. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine that no node in knowledge graph 600corresponds to the term “middle-earth movie”. The media guidanceapplication may present to a user query 506 asking for confirmation ofassociation between the term “middle-earth movie” and the candidatecomponent “The Hobbit”, and receive user input of a user selection ofaffirmative button 508. In response to receiving the user input, themedia guidance application may create node 602 corresponding to the term“middle-earth movie” and edge 622. The media guidance application maythen modify the value associated with edge 622. The media guidanceapplication may modify knowledge graph 600 by transmitting informationdescribing the creation of node 602 and edge 622 to media content source416 or media guidance data source 418 to change the value.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may modify the valueassociated with an edge in response to information received from mediacontent source 416 or media guidance data source 418. For example, themedia guidance application may receive information throughcommunications network 414 that the actor Johnny Depp and the actressAmber Heard have stopped dating and gotten married. In response to theincreased strength of connection between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard,the media guidance application may increase a value associated with edge624 by transmitting the new value to media content source 416 or mediaguidance data source 418 to change the value.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in updating aknowledge graph in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.Process 700 may be executed using control circuitry 304 present in userdevice 502. It should be noted that the process 700 or any step thereofcould be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS.3-5 . For example, process 700 may be executed by processing circuitry304 (FIG. 3 ) as instructed by processing circuitry implemented on userequipment 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4 ) in order to provide informationto a user. In addition, one or more steps of process 700 may beincorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any otherprocess or embodiment.

Process 700 begins where the media guidance application receives a usercommunication in block 702. The media guidance application may receiveuser communication 504 through communications network 414 from userdevice 502. User communication 504 may be any form of textual or verbalcommunication received through user input interface 310 on user device502. User communication 504 may not be related to media assets. Forexample, user communication 504 may be a portion of a user's interactionwith a GPS system. The media guidance application may update differentknowledge graphs in response to receiving user communications fromdifferent subject areas. For example, the media guidance application mayupdate a media asset knowledge graph, such as knowledge graph 600, inresponse to receiving user communication 504 about a “middle-earthmovie”, while it may update a locations knowledge graph in response toreceiving a user communication that is a user asking her GPS, “How toget to the tall picturesque steel tower?” User communication 504 may notbe a communication from one person to another, and may instead be acommunication from one user to a machine. For example, usercommunication 504 may be a verbal question posed by the user to a malldirectory machine.

Process 700 proceeds to block 704, where the media guidance applicationisolates, using control circuitry 304, a term of the user communication.The media guidance application may isolate a term of user communication504 using control circuitry 304 to match user communication 504 totemplates stored in storage circuitry 308 as described in relation toFIG. 5 . In some embodiments, the media guidance application may useheuristics to isolate a term from user communication 504. For example,the media guidance application may isolate a term that is a non-propernoun from each user communication. In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may use the frequencies of terms in usercommunications to isolate a term based on its frequency.

Process 700 proceeds to block 706, where the media guidance applicationidentifies, using control circuitry 304, a candidate component of aknowledge graph associated with the term. The media guidance applicationmay retrieve a part of or the entirety of knowledge graph 600 fromstorage circuitry 308. The media guidance application may identify thecandidate component by identifying candidate components of knowledgegraph 600 that are associated with the node corresponding to the term,as described in relation to FIG. 6 . In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may rank a plurality of candidate componentsassociated with the isolated term, and choose a highest ranked candidatecomponent as the candidate component.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may select a portionof the knowledge graph used to identify the candidate component based ona context of user communication 504. For example, if user communication504 occurs when the user asks a mall kiosk a location of a store, themedia guidance application may determine that the context of usercommunication 504 is “Mall” and use a portion of a knowledge graphdirected to information about mall stores to identify the candidatecomponent. In another example, if user communication 504 occurs when theuser asks her GPS to direct her to a famous landmark, the media guidanceapplication may determine that the context of user communication 504 is“GPS” and use a portion of a knowledge graph directed to GPS relateddata to identify the candidate component.

Process 700 proceeds to block 708, where the media guidance applicationrequests user input directed to confirming whether the term isassociated with the candidate component. The media guidance applicationmay request input by presenting a query on display 312 or speakers 314.The media guidance application may request user input on any deviceassociated with the user. The media guidance application may requestuser input through any form of textual or verbal feedback the userenters through user input interface 310. The media guidance applicationmay parse the user input to determine if the user affirmed or denied anassociation between the term and the candidate component. In someembodiments, the media guidance application may request the user inputfrom the user at fixed intervals until user input is received. In someembodiments, the media guidance application may request user input afixed number of times and then stop requesting user input even if userinput has not been received.

Process 700 proceeds to block 710, where the media guidance application,in response to receiving the user input, modifies a strength ofassociation between the term and the candidate component by modifying avalue in knowledge graph 600. The media guidance application mayincrease the strength of association if the user input confirms theassociation, or decrease the strength of association if the user inputdenies the association. The media guidance application may modifyknowledge graph 600 to change the strength of association between theterm and candidate component, as described in relation to FIG. 6 . Themedia guidance application may modify knowledge graph 600 by instructingmedia content source 416 or media guidance data source 418 throughcommunications network 414 to change knowledge graph 600.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may modify a locallystored copy of knowledge graph 600 using storage circuitry 308. Themedia guidance application may then periodically update a master copy ofknowledge graph 600 using communications network 414 to transmit thelocally stored copy of knowledge graph 600 to a central location such asmedia content source 416 or media guidance data source 418. In someembodiments, the media guidance application may directly update a mastercopy of knowledge graph 600 each time the media guidance applicationmodifies knowledge graph 600.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 7 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 7 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increate thespeed of the system or method.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for updating a knowledgegraph using user communications in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure. It should be noted that the process 800 or any stepthereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices shownin FIGS. 3-5 . For example, process 800 may be executed by processingcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3 ) as instructed by processing circuitryimplemented on user equipment 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4 ) in order toprovide information to a user. In addition, one or more steps of process800 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of anyother process or embodiment.

Process 800 begins when the media guidance application receives usercommunication 504. The media guidance application may receive a verbalcommunication at block 802 or a textual communication at step 804. Themedia guidance application may receive user communication 504 throughuser input interface 310 at user device 502. The media guidanceapplication may convert verbal user communication received at block 802to a transcript of the verbal user communication. The media guidanceapplication may parse the transcript of the verbal user communication toremove artifacts of spoken communication such as filler words andpauses.

Process 800 proceeds to block 806, where the media guidance applicationisolates a term of user communication 504 using control circuitry 304.This may happen as described in relation to block 704.

Process 800 proceeds to block 808, where the media guidance applicationcross-references, using control circuitry 304, the term with a knowledgegraph stored in a database to identify a plurality of candidatecomponents of the knowledge graph. In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may be configured to identify only one candidatecomponent. In some embodiments, the database containing knowledge graph600 may be stored using storage circuitry 308 or accessed throughcommunications network 414. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may only identify a maximum of a pre-determined number ofcandidate components to reduce computational complexity.

Process 800 proceeds to block 810, where the media guidance applicationidentifies, using control circuitry 304, a highest ranked candidatecomponent of the plurality of candidate components as the currentcandidate component. In some embodiments, the plurality of candidatecomponents may have been ranked using criteria such as a date associatedwith the candidate component, metadata association with the candidatecomponent, relevance of the candidate component to the term, or adistance of the candidate component from the term on the knowledgegraph.

Process 800 proceeds to block 812, where the media guidance applicationdetermines, using control circuitry 304, if additional information aboutany of the plurality of candidate components is known. If the mediaguidance application determines that additional information 512 isknown, media guidance application may provide the additional informationwhile requesting user input as shown in block 814. The media guidanceapplication may provide additional information 512 through display 312or speakers 314. If the media guidance application determines thatadditional information 512 is not known, the media guidance applicationmay request user input without providing additional information as shownin block 816. In some embodiments, the media guidance application mayprovide a setting on user device 502 to enable the user to indicatewhether the user wants to be provided with additional information 512.

Process 800 proceeds to block 818, where the media guidance applicationreceives from user input interface 310 user input. The media guidanceapplication may receive user input in many forms, such as a userselection of a button or option provided to the user by the mediaguidance application, a verbal communication from the user, or a videofrom the user. The media guidance application may parse the user inputto determine if the user confirmed or denied an association between theterm and the candidate component. For example, the media guidanceapplication may provide the user with query 506 asking “Do you think theconnection between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is getting stronger?” inresponse to receiving user communication 504 “I heard Johnny Deppmarried Amber Heard!” The user input may be a verbal sound clip from theuser stating, “I think they're getting much closer.” The media guidanceapplication may determine, using control circuitry 304, that the userinput corresponds to a confirmation of an increasing strength ofassociation between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

Process 800 proceeds to block 820, where the media guidance applicationdetermines if the term exists in knowledge graph 600. The media guidanceapplication may determine if a node corresponding to the term exists inknowledge graph 600. If such a node does not exist, the media guidanceapplication may generate a node for the term in knowledge graph 600 andcreate an edge to connect it to the associated candidate component, asshown in block 822.

Process 800 proceeds to block 824, where the media guidance applicationdetermines, using control circuitry 304, if the user input confirms thatthe term and the candidate component are related. If the user inputconfirms the association, the media guidance application increases astrength of association between the term and the candidate component bymodifying knowledge graph 600 as shown in block 826. The media guidanceapplication may then wait for a next user communication to be receivedat blocks 802 or 804. If the user input denies the association, themedia guidance application decreases a strength of association betweenthe term and the candidate component by modifying knowledge graph 600 asshown in block 828. In some embodiments, decreasing a strength ofassociation between a term and candidate component may include removingan edge connecting the term and the candidate component in knowledgegraph 600.

Process 800 proceeds to block 830, where the media guidance applicationidentifies the next-highest-ranked candidate component of the pluralityof candidate components as the current candidate component. If nocandidate components remain, the media guidance application may wait fora next user communication to be received at blocks 802 or 804. If anext-highest-ranked candidate component is found, process 800 proceedsagain to block 812.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 8 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 8 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method.

The processes discussed above are intended to be illustrative and notlimiting. One skilled in the art would appreciate that the steps of theprocesses discussed herein may be omitted, modified, combined, and/orrearranged, and any additional steps may be performed without departingfrom the scope of the invention. More generally, the above disclosure ismeant to be exemplary and not limiting. Only the claims that follow aremeant to set bounds as to what the present invention includes.Furthermore, it should be noted that the features and limitationsdescribed in any one embodiment may be applied to any other embodimentherein, and flowcharts or examples relating to one embodiment may beapplied to any other embodiment herein, and flowcharts or examplesrelating to one embodiment may be combined with any other embodiment ina suitable manner, done in different orders, or done in parallel. Inaddition, the systems and methods described herein may be performed inreal time. It should also be noted, the systems and/or methods describedabove may be applied to, or used in accordance with, other systemsand/or methods.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing recommendations based on auser's conversational communications, the method comprising: receiving,via a user interface, a user communication; extracting a first term ofthe user communication; comparing the first term to a plurality of termsrepresented by a respective plurality of nodes in a knowledge graph; inresponse to determining that no node in the knowledge graph represents aterm corresponding to the first term: identifying a candidate node;generating for output, via the user interface, a prompt to confirm anassociation between the first term and a second term represented by thecandidate node of the knowledge graph; and in response to receiving, inresponse to the prompt, a confirmation of association between the firstterm and the second term, creating a new node corresponding to the firstterm and an edge connecting the new node with the candidate node in theknowledge graph; and generating a content recommendation associated withthe second term.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, via the user interface, a second user communication;identifying a third term of the second user communication, wherein thethird term corresponds to the candidate node; generating for output, viathe user interface, a second prompt for user input directed toconfirming whether the third term is associated with the first term; andin response to receiving the user input, modifying a strength ofassociation between the new node and the candidate node.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein modifying the strength of associated between the newnode and the candidate node further comprises: determining whether theuser input confirms or denies that the third term is associated with thefirst term; and in response to determining that the user input confirmsthat the third term is associated with the first term, increasing thestrength of association between the new node and the candidate node. 4.The method of claim 2, wherein modifying the strength of associatedbetween the new node and the candidate node further comprises:determining whether the user input confirms or denies that the thirdterm is associated with the first term; and in response to determiningthat the user input denies that the third term is associated with thefirst term, decreasing the strength of association between the new nodeand the candidate node.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the strengthof association is represented by a weight allocated to an edgeconnecting the new node and the candidate node.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein generating the prompt further comprises providing informationassociated with the candidate node.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising providing information associated with an additional componentof the knowledge graph that has high strength of association between thefirst term and the additional component.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein identifying the candidate node further comprisescross-referencing the first term with candidate terms represented bycandidate nodes of the knowledge graph stored in a database.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein identifying the candidate node furthercomprises: identifying a plurality of candidate nodes of the knowledgegraph; ranking each of the plurality of candidate nodes; identifying ahighest ranked candidate node of the plurality of candidate nodes as thecandidate node; receiving a user input that denies that the first termis associated with the candidate node; and in response to receiving theuser input, identifying a next highest ranked candidate node of theplurality of candidate nodes as the candidate node.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the user communication is verbal or textual.
 11. Asystem for providing recommendations based on a user's conversationalcommunications, the system comprising: storage circuitry configured tostore a knowledge graph having a plurality of nodes and a plurality ofedges; communications circuitry configured to receive a usercommunication; and control circuitry configured to: receive, via a userinterface, a user communication; extract a first term of the usercommunication; compare the first term to a plurality of termsrepresented by a respective plurality of nodes in a knowledge graph; inresponse to determining that no node in the knowledge graph represents aterm corresponding to the first term: identify a candidate node;generate for output, via the user interface, a prompt to confirm anassociation between the first term and a second term represented by thecandidate node of the knowledge graph; and in response to receiving, inresponse to the prompt, a confirmation of association between the firstterm and the second term, create a new node corresponding to the firstterm and an edge connecting the new node with the candidate node in theknowledge graph; and generate a content recommendation associated withthe second term.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the controlcircuitry is further configured to: receive, via the user interface, asecond user communication; identify a third term of the second usercommunication, wherein the third term corresponds to the candidate node;generate for output, via the user interface, a second prompt for userinput directed to confirming whether the third term is associated withthe first term; and in response to receiving the user input, modifying astrength of association between the new node and the candidate node. 13.The system of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry configured tomodify the strength of associated between the new node and the candidatenode is further configured to: determine whether the user input confirmsor denies that the third term is associated with the first term; and inresponse to determining that the user input confirms that the third termis associated with the first term, increase the strength of associationbetween the new node and the candidate node.
 14. The system of claim 12,wherein the control circuitry configured to modify the strength ofassociated between the new node and the candidate node is furtherconfigured to: determine whether the user input confirms or denies thatthe third term is associated with the first term; and in response todetermining that the user input denies that the third term is associatedwith the first term, decrease the strength of association between thenew node and the candidate node.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein thestrength of association is represented by a weight allocated to an edgeconnecting the new node and the candidate node.
 16. The system of claim11, wherein the control circuitry configured to generate the prompt isfurther configured to provide information associated with the candidatenode.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry isfurther configured to provide information associated with an additionalcomponent of the knowledge graph that has high strength of associationbetween the first term and the additional component.
 18. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the control circuitry configured to identify thecandidate node is further configured to cross-reference the first termwith candidate terms represented by candidate nodes of the knowledgegraph stored in a database.
 19. The system of claim 11, wherein thecontrol circuitry configured to identify the candidate node is furtherconfigured to: identify a plurality of candidate nodes of the knowledgegraph; rank each of the plurality of candidate nodes; identify a highestranked candidate node of the plurality of candidate nodes as thecandidate node; receive a user input that denies that the first term isassociated with the candidate node; and in response to receiving theuser input, identify a next highest ranked candidate node of theplurality of candidate nodes as the candidate node.
 20. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the user communication is verbal or textual.